're on. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. ardbl" starts right now. >>> romney losing his bearings. les play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'chris matthewsn washington. let me start with this. why do we have such long campaigns for president? because it's a tryout a chance to not just kick the tires, not just to look under the hood, but to actually take the car out for a drive. over the past several weeks this country has experienced what lbeinarh mitt romney. we've felt the swerves, the sudden shifts, the abrupt stops and reverses, the reckless changes of lanes, the slipping and the sliding. there's more road ahead, of course, including three debates, but we're getting a sense that this guy doesn't know exactly where he's going or even on how to drive this car. and the big question is, why is he having such a tough time? why does he seem, dare we say it, confused? could it be because he doesn't know where he's trying to take cahesnnoer wants to go? as david axelrod said, campaigns arlike an mri for the soul, whoever you are, eventually peopleind t. joining me now are the two men w